Justin Steele

Justin Carle Steele

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
• High School George County High School
• Debut April 12, 2021

• Born July 11, 1995 in Lucedale, MS USA

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Biographical information

Pitcher Justin Steele made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs in the early days of the 2021 season. He spent his first season as a swingman, making 9 starts in 20 games and going 4-4, 4.26 while pitching 57 innings. He had been a 5th round selection out of high school in the 2014 amateur draft, but it had taken him a few years to make his way to the majors, having been set back by an injury that limited him to 11 games in 2018, followed by a poor 0-6, 5.59 record with the AA Tennessee Smokies in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic that forced him to sit out the 2020 season when the minor leagues were shut down. But he was excellent with the AAA Iowa Cubs in 2021 when wasn't pitching for the Cubs, going 2-0, 1.32 in 9 games.

He moved to the Cubs' starting rotation full time in 2022 and pitched very well, even if his win/loss record did not reflect this. In 24 games, all starts, he went 4-7, but with an excellent 3.18 ERA (132 ERA+) and 126 strikeouts in 119 innings. He then put it all together in 2023 as he established himself as Chicago's ace by making the All-Star team and going 16-5, 3.06 in 30 starts. He pitched 173 1/3 innings with an outstanding K/W ratio of 176/36. He finished 5th in the voting for the Cy Young Award, and finished third in the National League in ERA, wins and winning percentage, first in fewest homers per inning (he gave up just 14 long balls) and 8th in WHIP.

In 2024, he made 24 starts with another excellent ERA - 3.08, good for an ERA+ of 130 - but wins were hard to come by as he finished at 5-5 in a season very similar to what he had done in 2022. It was rookie Shota Imanaga who took over as the team's ace, but Justin's peripheral numbers were still good, with 111 hits allowed in 134 2/3 innings and a 135/37 K/W ratio. In 2025, he was the only non-Japanese pitcher to start a game in the two-game season-opening series the Cubs played against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Tokyo Dome. He started the second game on March 19th after Imanaga had started the season opener, but he was roughed up for five runs, including long balls by Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez, in four innings. He was charged with his team's 6-3 loss. He was then a winner in each of his next three starts, including a start on April 7th when he held the Texas Rangers scoreless on three hits over seven innings. He was 3-1, 4.76 at that point but it turned out to be his final pitching line for the year as on April 13th, the Cubs announced that he would need to undergo surgery on his left elbow and that he would not be back that season.

Notable Achievements

• NL All-Star (2023)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 1 (2023)

Further Reading

• Jordan Bastian: "Cubs lefty Steele to undergo season-ending elbow surgery", mlb.com, April 13, 2025. [1]

Related Sites

• Justin Steele on mlb.com